Schumer ‘Dark Money’ Group Buying Ads to Boost McCaskill in Missouri

The group, Majority Forward, is a "voter registration and voter turnout" group that is now launching a six-figure ad buy to support Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

By NTK Staff | 12.20.2017 @11:00am

It turns out Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) opposition to the tax cut bill may pay off for her, and all in a bundle of ‘dark money’ support for her re-election campaign.

Politico‘s Kevin Robillard wrote Wednesday morning (note: Politico Pro paywall) that Majority Forward, a Democratic non-profit affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), is “highlighting the 50 town halls that Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill held in 2017” with a new radio buy.

The statewide campaign is backed by a six-figure buy and will run on Facebook and other platforms.

The ads include two graphics: One shows the locations of McCaskill’s town halls and the other shows a quote from the Democratic senator: “Whether they agree with me or not, every Missourian is my boss.” There’s also a GIF of a Fitbit showing McCaskill has taken “1,589,340-ish” steps, held 50 town halls and helped “countless” Missourians.

What exactly is Majority Forward? Their website is opaque, with a single page describing themselves as a “voter registration” group.

Majority Forward is a not-for-profit 501(c)(4) organization created to support voter registration and voter turnout efforts. Our primary mission is to encourage full participation by voters in our election process.

In our political work, Majority Forward works with an affiliated super PAC, Senate Majority PAC, to elect candidates whose policies represent the goals of the majority of Americans who want to move our country forward.

The truth is both more alarming and, somehow, even murkier: the group is closely affiliated with Schumer, and can take unlimited amounts of so-called ‘dark money‘ without revealing its donors.

A super PAC leading Democratic efforts to retake the U.S. Senate is sharing resources with a new, allied nonprofit group that will not have to reveal its donors.

In a campaign finance disclosure report filed Friday, Senate Majority PAC reported receiving more than $300,000 in reimbursements for staff, office space and other expenses during the second half of last year from a group called Majority Forward.

The boost McCaskill gets from Schumer for lining up with him on Democratic priorities may prove not worth the questions voters will no doubt have about the ‘dark money’ benefiting her re-election campaign.